122 PRACTICAL FORESTRY IN 



INTERNATIONAL TAX CONFERENCE, held at Toronto : Resolved, That 

 it is within the legitimate province of tax laws to encourage the 

 growth of forests in order to protect watersheds and insure a future 

 supply of timber; and legislation, or constitution amendment where 

 necessary, is recommended for these purposes. 



AMERICAN FOREST CONGRESS, Washington, D. C.: Eesolved, That 

 we earnestly commend to all state authorities . . . reducing the 

 burden of taxation on lands held for forest reproduction in order that 

 persons and corporations may be induced to put in practice the prin- 

 ciples of forest conservation. 



PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY: Tax assessors have 

 differing ideas of value and their assessments vary widely. The only 

 remedy for the forest owner is to appeal from the assessment to the 

 county commissioners, and, if here unsuccessful, to the county court, 

 a matter involving both time and expense and frequently more costly 

 than the differences in taxes to be gained; but at the same time the 

 fact is well recognized that forested land is both unequally and 

 unfairly taxed. 



H. S. GRAVES, Chief Forester for the United States: The forest 

 areas now owned chiefly by lumber companies will cease to be devas- 

 tated as soon as fires are stopped. They will not, however, be handled 

 to any large extent with a view of future production until the taxes 

 are placed on a fair basis. 



FILIBERT BOTH, Professor of Forestry, University of Michigan, 

 State Fire Warden of Michigan (speaking of frequent local attitude 

 toward non-resident owner) : 



Though, in truth, these resident people often make their living from 

 the tax money of the non-resident, and though the latter contributes 

 toward every rod of road and every schoolhouse built, and other 

 improvement, yet he is treated as if he were a wrongdoer, is taxed 

 unmercifully, and, in addition, a trespass on his land or forest is 

 excused and it is almost impossible in many places to get conviction. 



If the State and local people had treated the owners of timber 

 honestly and had spent a reasonable part of the taxes in giving the 

 protection which the owner had a right to expect under the Constitu- 

 tion, there would still be more than half of our pinery lands covered 

 by forest. 



Forestry is no " sugar trust baby, " as so many are trying to make 

 it out. Forests can pay taxes as well as any other property. Forestry 

 is like any other honest business, it cannot stand confiscation. 



Suppose you have a twenty-acre lot of sugar beets and the assessor 

 would hang around until the beets are ripe and then figure: "The 

 land: is good; I assess it at $75 per acre, and the crop is worth $75 

 more, so that this property will stand at $150." What would you 

 say? But the assessor who assesses the timber as part of the real 



